Training camp is used in several different ways. New players and coaches use it to acclimate themselves to new teammates and systems. For younger players, it serves as a period of evaluation; for veterans, it is time to round back into form.

Training camp is divided into several different components. The first is scrimmages. These are pseudo-games where teams run nearly full games' worth of plays. Sometimes, two practice sessions are held on the same day. This concept is referred to as two-a-days. Other parts of training camp include drills, meetings with coaches and other players at one's position, weight training, and pre-season games.

With NFL training camps starting in late-July, the biggest concern has been dehydration. In 2001, Minnesota Vikings player Korey Stringer died of a medical condition based from dehydration and heatstroke. The death of Stringer prompted the NFL to change their training policies. At each practice, every team must have the team doctor and trainers on the field; additionally, an ambulance must be present during practices.

With NFL training camps beginning in late July, severe weather can affect practice and exhibition games. In 2002, a Cleveland Browns exhibition game ended due to lightning near Cleveland Browns Stadium, and severe storms have been known to disrupt training camps.

Fans are often able to visit their favorite team's training camp to catch an early look at the players; admission to practices is often free or substantially less expensive than a game ticket, making training camp trips a popular option for fans who cannot attend many games due to financial or other reasons. NFL teams often sell souvenirs and concessions at camp sites along with offering activities and events to make training camp a more fan-friendly experience.

Official NFL training camps should be distinguished from private training camps, often for certain tactics or positions.[1]

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Recently the NFL has let teams have off-season training sessions, officially called "organized team activities" (OTAs). Many teams use the OTAs to help develop players and make them better. These training sessions are in late April and early May. The OTAs are the only practices between the end of the previous season and the start of training camp. Players new to the NFL attend seminars and lectures organized by the NFL from mid-June to mid-July. For veteran players, they use the off-time to sponsor football camps for children, golf outings for charity, or even some family time.[citation needed]

Unlike Major League Baseballspring training, where teams congregate at locations in two states (Arizona and Florida), NFL teams train all over the United States. However, an increasing number of teams do so in the same facilities at which they practice all year long - 19 teams in 2014, and 20 in 2015, up from five in 2000.[2] Most teams have abandoned remote locations to "come home" for training camp, largely for practicality reasons. Many clubs have recently constructed state-of-the-art practice facilities, replete with amenities (practice fields, indoor practice fields, weightlifting rooms, meeting rooms, film study rooms, cafeteria, medical facilities, IT infrastructure, etc.) that can not be provided or matched at other distant locations (colleges, parks, etc.) In addition, the cost of temporarily relocating and accommodating the entire team organization to another location is substantial.[3]

The attitudes about how to run training camp have also evolved - leading more teams to stay home. With Organized Team Activities ("OTAs"), mini-camps, and conditioning during the offseason, players remain in top physical shape year-round. The focus of training camp is no longer getting players back in shape, but more of fostering comradery.

Another difference between spring training and training camp is that true intra-squad games do not take place (anymore), though informal scrimmages are very common. Split-squad games never happen in the NFL. It is also fairly common to see two teams hold a short joint camp and scrimmage at a neutral site in addition to their main camp.